Saturday night at Nationwide Arena was an emotional one for all.
Former Columbus Blue Jacket Rick Nash was celebrated in a pregame ceremony with his jersey No. 61 retired and raised to the rafters, symbolizing the first Blue Jackets number retired in franchise history. Nash is the franchise leader in goals (289), assists (258), points (547), and games played (674).
Not lost in the love for one of the best players and captains in Blue Jackets history, the city and team welcomed back Nick Foligno, who had an assist in his return for the Bruins as they won tonight 5-4 in a shootout.
The former captain was back in Columbus for the first time since last season's trade to the Toronto Maple Leafs. It was also Sean Kuraly's first game against his old team.
The three most recent captains in @BlueJacketsNHL history (Boone Jenner, Nick Foligno, and Rick Nash) take the ice for a ceremonial puck drop.#CBJ | #CBJ61 pic.twitter.com/PmFjpVBUcP
— Bally Sports Columbus (@BallySportsCBUS) March 6, 2022
Pomp and circumstance aside, there was a hockey game to be played.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | OT | SO | F | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BRUINS | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | XXO | 5 |
| BLUE JACKETS | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | XXX | 4 |
Jeremy Swayman was in net for the Bruins, making 20 saves for his seventh straight win. The Bruins have won two straight and seven of eight.
Jake DeBrusk, Erik Haula, Craig Smith, and Patrice Bergeron scored for the Bruins in regulation. David Pastrnak won it on the third shootout attempt.
Gus Nyquist, Vladislav Gavrikov, Zach Werenski, and Jake Voracek scored for the Blue Jackets.
Elvis Merzlikins started in goal for Columbus on consecutive nights, and for the fourth straight game, making 28 saves as the Blue Jackets lost their second straight.
The Bruins started the scoring as DeBrusk's eighth of the season at 10:39 came off a deflection. There was a mess of traffic in front of Merzlikins as the puck found net and Brad Marchand and Charlie McAvoy picked up assists.
Answering the other way, Nyquist cleaned up a Boone Jenner rush up-ice, in which the Swede corralled the puck and fired a top-shelf shot past Swayman for his 14th at 16:57. In addition to Jenner getting an assist was Patrik Laine, the first of two on the night, and he has points in three straight.
Gus corrals and fires. #CBJ pic.twitter.com/1PZtwKepg5
— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) March 6, 2022
It didn't take long before Gavrikov came in off the point and poked his third of the year through to make it 2-1 at 19:00. Dean Kukan and Justin Danforth assisted.
1 is good 2 is better. Gavi #CBJ pic.twitter.com/EWqn5tWZlN
— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) March 6, 2022
In the second period, Voracek was hauled down but there was no call. Moments later at 1:51, Erik Haula tied the game at two. He has points in six straight.
The Blue Jackets looked to avoid catastrophe when Marchand and Werenski came fast and furious towards Merzlikins, who jumped up to avoid a collision with Werenski. Trainers checked on Werenski who didn't get up initially but stayed out on the power play.
It could have been way worse. #CBJ pic.twitter.com/SckofRGHE9
— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) March 6, 2022
He was feeling okay as on that power play, Werenski fired home his ninth goal of the season with Oliver Bjorkstrand and Voracek grabbing assists.
Z does his thing and we're back up! #CBJ pic.twitter.com/BVaNTwdgCu
— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) March 6, 2022
At 4:40 of the third period, Smith scored his 10th — four goals in two games — off a 2-on-1 play in which Foligno and Connor Clifton earned assists. Patrice Bergeron slammed home a power play rebound at 14:58 to propel Boston to a 4-3 lead. Taylor Hall and Pastrnak assisted.
The drama went down to the wire as Foligno's penalty led to Voracek's game-tying goal with three seconds left to get the Blue Jackets to overtime in consecutive nights. Kuraly grabbed an assist against his old club as did Laine, who had his second on the night.
pic.twitter.com/WpKvNPkrw7 #CBJ
— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) March 6, 2022
With no goals in overtime, this game headed to a shootout which the Bruins took in the third round on Pastrnak's shot to nab the win.
The Blue Jackets have lost three straight games in which they had a lead entering the third period. Saturday's attendance of 19,434 was the largest crowd in franchise history.
- Shots: 32-24 Bruins
- Hits: 28-20 Blue Jackets
- Faceoff Wins: 28-27 Blue Jackets
- Blocked Shots: 16-12 Bruins
- Power Play: Blue Jackets 2-of-3, Bruins 1-of-2
- Boone Jenner led both teams with five hits
- Patrice Bergeron led both teams with six shots
-
Vladislav Gavrikov and Matt Grzelcyk co-led both teams with four blocked shots
Next Up
The Blue Jackets (28-25-3, 59 points) will host the Toronto Maple Leafs (35-16-4, 74 points) on Monday night at Nationwide Arena. The Blue Jackets are 1-1-0 against the Maple Leafs this season. Puck drop is slated for 7:00 pm ET.
